Príncipe after dark: the scops owl described in 2022, and the island's endemics at dawn
Príncipe scops owl (Otus bikegila, described 2022, Critically Endangered), Príncipe thrush, Príncipe kingfisher, Príncipe starling, Dohrn's thrush-babbler, Príncipe speirops, Príncipe sunbird, Príncipe golden weaver; São Tomé spinetail, grey parrots in hundreds. Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe and the plantation forests of Príncipe (Biosphere Reserve), São Tomé and Príncipe.
Best time: 1 Dec – 28 Feb and 15 Jun – 15 Sep (December to February, June to September). Where: Southern Obô do Príncipe – old-growth forest (owl range), Santo António – Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve office, Roça Belo Monte – plantation forest (São Tomé and Príncipe). Time of day: The owl starts calling almost as soon as it is dark and duets through the first hours of the night.
- Guide, ranger or boat needed
- Entry fee
- Binoculars helpful
- Sound 5/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
- Peak 1: 1 Dec – 28 Feb — Short dry season: endemic display, dry nights
- Peak 2: 15 Jun – 15 Sep — Gravana: cool, dry, easy walking
Active from 1 Jan to 31 Dec (all year) in a typical year.
Time of day
The owl starts calling almost as soon as it is dark and duets through the first hours of the night; the endemic dawn chorus runs from first light to about 08:30; grey parrot flocks fly to roost in the last half hour before dusk
- Owl duets: last light → 3 h after last light
- Endemic dawn: first light → 08:30
- Parrot roost flight: 30 min before sunset → sunset
What will you hear?
A fast, insect-like 'tuu-tuu-tuu' at about one note a second, often as a duet with the female higher-pitched, from the old-growth forest of the uninhabited south — a sound nobody had named until 2022. Before dark, the island's grey parrots screaming to roost; at dawn, the thrush, the thrush-babbler, the speirops and the Príncipe sunbird in a forest with no roads.
Binoculars?
Binoculars helpful. The owl is heard, rarely seen; binoculars for the thrush-babbler and sunbirds at dawn and the parrot flocks at dusk.
Where to go
- Southern Obô do Príncipe – old-growth forest (owl range) — The owl's whole range is about 15 km² of lowland native forest in the uninhabited south, inside the park; reached by boat to the south coast and a guided walk, or a long trail from the north. Coordinates approximate — the park office sets the route. Map
- Santo António – Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve office — Permits, guides and the Ceciliano 'Bikegila' do Bom Jesus connection: the park ranger after whom the owl is named works from here. Map
- Roça Belo Monte – plantation forest — Old cocoa plantation in the north; the thrush-babbler, speirops, weaver and sunbird on the estate tracks at dawn, parrots to roost at dusk. Map
- Bom Bom – road and islet — The Bom Bom road is the easy endemics walk; the islet is a seabird and shorebird spot. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
The owl is inside the park's southern forest: a guide from the park office in Santo António and either a boat to the south coast or a long trail with a camp. The rest of the island's endemics are free from the Bom Bom road and the Belo Monte estate tracks at dawn. Fly São Tomé–Príncipe (35 minutes, daily).
Cost: Park guide per day and the boat charter to the south — check current prices at the park office; the northern roça tracks are free.
Free or no-guide alternative: Dawn on the Bom Bom road and the Belo Monte tracks: Príncipe thrush-babbler, speirops, sunbird, golden weaver and the parrot roost flight at dusk, no guide; the owl itself only in the southern park.
Field-recording notes
The owl's population is put at 1,000–1,500 birds in one location: no playback under any circumstances, and no light on a calling bird — record from the trail with a parabola or a long shotgun and let it duet. The park asks for a guide inside the boundary and the south is reached by boat or a full day's walk, so this is a camping trip arranged with the park office. Nights are warm, wet and still; mona monkeys and black rats are the owl's predators, not people — keep food sealed at camp. The northern roças (Belo Monte, Sundy) and the Bom Bom road are open at dawn for the other endemics without a permit.
Sources
- New species of scops-owl discovered on Príncipe (Sci.News, 2022; Melo et al., ZooKeys)
- Príncipe scops owl (Wikipedia) — range, calls, Critically Endangered 2023
- Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe (Wikipedia)
Similar spectacles
Provençal nights: nightingale, scops owl & stone-curlewNightingales in every tamarisk, scops owls' 'tiu' on a 2–3 s metronome, stone-curlew wails from the Crau, nightjars churring on the garrigue, tree frogs from the marsh.
Karst nights: scops owl, nightjar and cicadasScops owl's monotone 'tyuh' every 2–3 s from village edges, nightjar churring on the dry meadows, sub-Mediterranean bush-cricket wall of sound, cicadas at 90+ dB at midday in July, eagle owl from the Vipava cliffs in late winter.
Wolf howling and Ural owls, Kočevski Rog nightsPack howls with high pup yips from rendezvous sites, carrying several km across karst dolines; Ural owl's deep barking 'wuh-wuh-wuho' and female's hoarse calls; Tengmalm's owl in late winter; red deer in the same windows from mid September.
Scops owl nights on the Dalmatian islandsSeveral scops owls counter-singing across a village at different pitches, nightjar churring from the maquis, Cetti's warbler, cicada tail-off at dusk, cricket and bush-cricket floor, sea against the shore.
Tawny owl territorial callingHoots and 'ke-wick' duets and disputes as young birds try to settle territories; sometimes three or four birds answering.
Bavarian Forest: pygmy and Tengmalm's owls, woodpeckers, lynx countryPygmy owl's piping series at dusk, Tengmalm's 'po-po-po-po' from the bark-beetle deadwood forest, Ural owl barking, three-toed woodpecker drumming rolls, nutcrackers; the loudest silence in Germany in the dead-spruce stands.
More: all spectacles in São Tomé and Príncipe · owls · wildlife at night · São Tomé and Príncipe in January · São Tomé and Príncipe in February · São Tomé and Príncipe in June · São Tomé and Príncipe in July · São Tomé and Príncipe in August · São Tomé and Príncipe in September · São Tomé and Príncipe in December